800 is the biopic of legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralidharan. Directed by Sripathy, the film has been released, and read our detailed review here at Filmyfocus.
Story: 800 is the life story of Muttiah Muralidharan. He is from a Tamil background and was born in Sri Lanka. The film depicts his journey from childhood. How hard he had to fight on and off the field to prove himself as a legendary cricketer time and again is the basic story of the film.
Performances: Madhur Mittal played the role of Murali and he has done a wonderful job. Be it his body language or the way he imitated Murali’s bowling action, Madhur has done a great job. The entire film is based on him and Madhur was amazing in the second half. Nasser plays a key role in the film and he was good as always. The actor who played the role of Arjuna Ranatunga was amazing and the rest of the cast was just okay.
Technicalities: The production values of the film are very good. The backdrop and the visuals are neat. The cricket matches could have been staged in a more real manner. The editing is okay but it needed more cuts in the second half. The Telugu dubbing is perfect and the VFX part was also neat. More popular actors in key roles would have made matters even better. Dialogues are decent and so is the production design.
Analysis: 800 is the life story of legendary cricketer Muralidharan which showcases the life story right from his childhood onwards. The back story of the Tamil people facing issues in Sri Lanka has been showcased in a very interesting manner. The entire first half is used for this and the struggles that Murali faced in every aspect of his life are shown in a very emotional manner.
As things are shown at a slow pace, the film gets dragged. Too much time is taken for the story of his childhood and when the time comes to showcase the main happenings in the life of Murali, the director rushes stuff in the second half. But the key moments of Murali being called for chucking have been showcased in detail. The film is more about how Murali faced hardships and how he came out shining.
The second half is where the action begins and the manner in which Murali faced the issues of being a Tamil in Sri Lanka is showcased on a moving note. The details of how the foreign media trolled him for his actions and how Murali fought through it are shown in a good. The only drawback is the makers should have added some high moments to make the film dramatic.
In a way, 800 depicts the pain that Murali went through to become the player he is. The actor who played Murali has done a wonderful job and adds a lot of depth to the film. Cricket lovers will find out so many issues about Murali in a good way and enjoy the narration. Those who do not love cricket will have other options.
Verdict: Overall, 800 is a moving sports drama that has some good moments. Though the pacing is slow and the plot is predictable, the life journey of Murali is so moving that one surely gets connected to the narration and enjoys the film.
Bottom Line: Story of an underdog
